Series Information

The Government Finance Statistics (GFS) contains statistical data on government financial operations for IMF member countries. Detailed annual data are presented on revenue, expenditure, and financing transactions. All data conform to basic standards and are comparable from country to country.

The IMF Government Finance Statistics uses the framework of the most recent Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM).

The GFS is a specialized macroeconomic statistical system designed to support fiscal analysis. It provides a comprehensive conceptual and accounting framework suitable for analyzing and evaluating fiscal policy, especially the performance of the general government sector and the broader public sector of any country.

The purpose of the GFS manual is to:

Provide the economic and statistical reportinf pronciples to be used in compiling the statistics

Describe the guidelines for presenting fiscal statistics within an analytical framework, including balancing items.

Should be harmonized with other statistical guidelines

Intstitutional Units and Sectors

The GFS should cover all entities that would have an affect on fiscal policy. The institutional sectors used within the GFSM are in accordance with the most recent System of National Account (SNA) definitions.

The GFS usually covers 2 main criteria:

General Government which is primarily nonmarket activities.

Public sector which captures the market activities and the quasi-fiscal operations of the public corporations.

Quasi-fiscal means they are governement operations carried out by the institutional units other that the actual government units.

A particular economy usually consists of a set of resident institutional units so the concept of residence is important. It is used to determine coverage of institutional units and the classification of transactions. The residence means the economic territory in which the institutional unit has the strongest connection. It is not based on nationality or legal criteria, if the institution is from another economic territory, for convenience, this is labeled as rest of the world. An economic territory is an geographic area or jurisdiction for which statistics are required. This may include land-area and airspace.

An institutional unit is an entity that is capable of owning assets, incurring liabilities, and engaging in economic activities through transactions with other entities. Features of these entities may include:

The ability to own goods or assets means that it is also able to exchange the ownership of those goods or assets with another institution.

Able to engage in economic activity in which it will be held directly accountable by law.

Able to incur liabilities on its own behalf whether it is an obligation, future commitment, or entering a contract.

They would produce a complete set of accounts from both an economic and legal standpoint.

Types of institutional units include:

Households

A group of persons who share the same living accomodation

Corporations

Entities that are cpapble of generating profit and other financial gain for owners.

Nonprofit institutions (NPIs)

legal or social entities created of producing goods and services, but they cannot be a source of income, profit, or any other financial gain.

Government units

Legal entities established by political processes that have executive, legislative, and judicial authority over other institutional units with a certain area.